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Prompt criticality
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{{Short description|Sustained nuclear fission achieved solely by prompt neutron emission}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}} In [[nuclear engineering]], '''prompt criticality''' describes a [[nuclear fission]] event in which [[Critical mass|criticality]] (the threshold for an exponentially growing nuclear fission chain reaction) is achieved with [[prompt neutron]]s alone and does not rely on [[delayed neutron]]s. As a result, prompt supercriticality causes a much more rapid growth in the rate of energy release than other forms of criticality. [[Nuclear weapon]]s are based on prompt criticality, while nuclear reactors rely on delayed neutrons or external neutrons to achieve criticality.
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